We were also impressed with the Woom’s rear aluminum V-brake hand brake, which is built for little hands and stops the bike with authority. A 2-year-old can easily squeeze the proprietary brake lever, and you can adjust the grip reach effortlessly via a small knob. The comfortably cush seat is right for a little kid (at 4.5 by 7 inches) and even features scuff-proof sides for when it’s laid over on the pavement. While its air tires, alloy wheels, and standard (and very strong) ball-bearing headset make it slightly heavier than the Strider 12 Sport at 9 pounds, the REV 12 is still acceptably light.
But we found, after polling numerous parents, that the more athletic your child is, the more likely they will take to them. The Woom 1 doesn’t compromise on anything—simple assembly, solid parts, ideal geometry—so if money is secondary and bike enthusiasm is primary for you, this is the bike for kids whose clothing size is between 2T and 4T. The Woom is designed in Europe (the motherland of most good bike culture), built in Cambodia, and dialed in with precision at Woom’s assembly facility in Austin, Texas, which gives the brand high quality control. Weighing just under 8 pounds, the Woom 1 features an ideal upright riding position, a very low 7-inch top tube height (great for shorter kids), and 5 inches of seat adjustability, starting on the lower end at 10¾ inches (most start around 12 inches).
The bike also arrived with its headset a bit too tight, making it notchy when you turned it. You can use a bigger wrench (again, not included), yet even without loosening, the too-tight headset wasn’t a dealbreaker because you can still turn the handlebars and they would loosen a bit over time anyway. The basic, skateboard-style cartridge bearings also worked fine as soon we loosened the axle nuts slightly. The bike is nonetheless handsome, and it performs well once it’s dialed in, allowing a kid to start and stop comfortably, ride easy or hard and fast, and to bail without issue in the inevitable wipeout. We spent more than 15 hours researching, and more than 20 hours assembling, dissecting, and testing 13 balance bikes. A few years ago, when my son was 2 and way too excited to ride his too-big pedal bike, I fashioned it into a balance bike by unscrewing the pedals and duct-taping the seat to the top tube.
When the Schwinn High Timber Women’s Mountain Bike is compared to the huffy cruiser Women’s Mountain Bike, the quality of the more expensive Schwinn High Timber parts is superior to the Huffy Trail Runner with the same tire size. The assembly is relatively easy, I found a video about it, if you follow the very detailed instruction of the video after purchase, you can expect to assemble it very well in 1 hour. When encountering potholes, the shock forks respond to soft and stiff moisture. The rear shock absorbs the vast majority of the vibration when the rear wheel passes over rocks or roots. We are always adding merchandise to our site, so make sure to check in on us regularly. Merchandise purchased online from a store location must be picked up at the same location.
The pedal installation process is not as simple as the 14x, though, and its geometry is more aggressive, which makes it agile but not quite as comfortable as the Strider. When it’s set up, the Strider’s pedal assembly is engineered with very narrow cranks and pedals—half as wide as you’d see on any other bike. These are key because when most kids transition from a balance to a pedal bike, they’re hardwired to use their feet as brakes—especially if their balance bike didn’t come with hand brakes. The narrowness of this setup allows them to continue to stride and brake like Fred Flintstone until they develop the coordination to engage the pedal and coaster brake in concert.
If our top pick is sold out, or if you want the cushioning and traction of rubber tires, particularly for indoor riding or bumpy surfaces, the REI Co-op Cycles REV 12 Kids’ Balance Bike is an excellent choice. Even though it usually costs $30 more than the Strider, we liked the bike’s Strider-like geometry, its ease of assembly, light weight, wheel setup, and relatively low price, as well as REI’s reputation. Like many engineering entrepreneurs, McFarland has fanatically followed the behaviors and traits of his consumers—in this case, parents and kids from toddlers to second graders to special-needs kids of all ages, for whom he’s built larger balance bikes. A good balance bike helps little kids develop the coordination and confidence they’ll need to ride a pedal bike—things they won’t get with training wheels. The plastic pedals on the huffy trail runner women’s mountain bike are easily damaged.
Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Your little lady will have so many stylish rides on this sweet Cruiser from Huffy. Lots of choices for plating and color if you want a little fancy or rust resistance. As you can see, I love to ride to our Farmer’s Market on Monday’s and Friday’s.